Earlier this month, she was crowned the first UFC women’s champion and given her first assignment: a headliner against Carmouche (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 157, which takes place Feb. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Main-card fights air on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.)

Rousey’s star power is such that Carmouche is at +650 to her -1175 in one current betting line. In other words, oddsmakers are giving Carmouche a mere one-in-10 chance of pulling off the upset.

There was a time, however, when Rousey wasn’t so dominant. Her mother, Ann Maria Rousey DeMars, was a decorated judo black belt who introduced her to the art by jarring her awake every morning with an armbar. Such alarm clocks led her to mastery of the technique, an Olympic bronze medal, and the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title before her current UFC belt.

So immersion therapy is the Carmouche camp’s plan.

“In the middle of instruction, when we have our jiu-jitsu coach talking and trying to walk us through moves, and somebody just decides to randomly jump on my back to try an armbar,” she said.

Of course, many observers might say that all armbars aren’t created equal, and Rousey’s can’t compare to others out there. Carmouche might not disagree. But she’s motivated to take on the challenge.

“I’m brought in to be the underdog and the loser, and I love it,” she said. “It’s something that I look forward to. The only thing you can do is step up and be that much greater, and it gives me motivation and energy to work that much harder.”

Carmouche said she sees “pretty consistent” flaws in Rousey’s game and is working with the team to create a blueprint for exposing them.

“This is something we’ve been doing since she took the title,” she said.

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As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.